--- title: "10 Photograph Quotes By Berenice Abbott" description: "10 Photograph quotes by Berenice Abbott. Plus more from Berenice Abbott and more Photograph sayings from other authors." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e78/berenice-abbott-14021_document_i-have-yet-to-see-a-fine-photograph-whic_906455.png" --- > [I have yet to see a fine photograph which is not a good document.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/berenice-abbott/i-have-yet-to-see-a-fine-photograph-which-is-not-a-good-document/) [Berenice Abbott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/berenice-abbott/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e78/berenice-abbott-14021_document_i-have-yet-to-see-a-fine-photograph-whic_906455.png) > [Imagine a world without photography, one could only imagine.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/berenice-abbott/imagine-a-world-without-photography-one-could-only-imagine/) [Berenice Abbott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/berenice-abbott/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8a2/berenice-abbott-14021_imagination_imagine-a-world-without-photography-one_2029682.png) > [The photograph may be presented as finely and artistically as you will; but to merit serious consideration, must be directly connected with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/berenice-abbott/the-photograph-may-be-presented-as-finely-and-artistically-as-you/) [Berenice Abbott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/berenice-abbott/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/58b/berenice-abbott-14021_cameras_the-photograph-may-be-presented-as-finel_2752854.png) > [I agree that all good photographs are documents, but I also know that all documents are certainly not good photographs. Furthermore, a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/berenice-abbott/i-agree-that-all-good-photographs-are-documents-but-i-also-know-that/) [Berenice Abbott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/berenice-abbott/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a5f/berenice-abbott-14021_agree_i-agree-that-all-good-photographs-are-do_2515548.png) > [I took to photography like a duck to water. I never wanted to do anything else. Excitement about the subject is the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/berenice-abbott/i-took-to-photography-like-a-duck-to-water-i-never-wanted-to-do/) [Berenice Abbott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/berenice-abbott/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/913/berenice-abbott-14021_drudgery_i-took-to-photography-like-a-duck-to-wat_2498422.png) > [Like every other means of expression, photography, if it is to be utterly honest and direct, should be related to the life…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/berenice-abbott/like-every-other-means-of-expression-photography-if-it-is-to-be/) [Berenice Abbott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/berenice-abbott/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5cf/berenice-abbott-14021_direct_like-every-other-means-of-expression-pho_984337.jpg) > [None. They should just go out and photograph and stop talking about it. That's the only way they are going to find…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/berenice-abbott/none-they-should-just-go-out-and-photograph-and-stop-talking-about-it/) [Berenice Abbott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/berenice-abbott/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/90e/berenice-abbott-14021_camera_none-they-should-just-go-out-and-photogr_594082.png) > [Actually, documentary pictures include every subject in the world - good, bad, indifferent. I have yet to see a fine photograph which…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/berenice-abbott/actually-documentary-pictures-include-every-subject-in-the-world-good/) [Berenice Abbott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/berenice-abbott/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ace/berenice-abbott-14021_documentaries_actually-documentary-pictures-include-ev_1861071.png) > [Let us first say what photography is not. A photograph is not a painting, a poem, a symphony, a dance. It is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/berenice-abbott/let-us-first-say-what-photography-is-not-a-photograph-is-not-a/) [Berenice Abbott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/berenice-abbott/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0ca/berenice-abbott-14021_documents_let-us-first-say-what-photography-is-not_1083684.png) > [To chart a course, one must have a direction. In reality, the eye is no better than the philosophy behind it. The…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/berenice-abbott/to-chart-a-course-one-must-have-a-direction-in-reality-the-eye-is-no/) [Berenice Abbott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/berenice-abbott/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/499/berenice-abbott-14021_behinds_to-chart-a-course-one-must-have-a-direct_305746.jpg) ## Other authors on Photograph ## More by Berenice Abbott > [The camera is no more an instrument of preservation, the image is.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/berenice-abbott/the-camera-is-no-more-an-instrument-of-preservation-the-image-is/) [Berenice Abbott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/berenice-abbott/) > [The challenge for me has first been to see things as they are, whether a portrait, a city street, or a bouncing ball. In…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/berenice-abbott/the-challenge-for-me-has-first-been-to-see-things-as-they-are-whether/) [Berenice Abbott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/berenice-abbott/) > [To chart a course, one must have a direction. In reality, the eye is no better than the philosophy behind it. The photographer creates,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/berenice-abbott/to-chart-a-course-one-must-have-a-direction-in-reality-the-eye-is-no/) [Berenice Abbott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/berenice-abbott/) > [Self-conscious artiness is fatal, but it certainly would not hurt to study composition in general. Having a basic understanding of composition would help construct…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/berenice-abbott/self-conscious-artiness-is-fatal-but-it-certainly-would-not-hurt-to/) [Berenice Abbott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/berenice-abbott/) > [To chart a course, one must have a direction. In reality, the eye is no better than the philosophy behind it. The photographer creates,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/berenice-abbott/to-chart-a-course-one-must-have-a-direction-in-reality-the-eye-is-no-2/) [Berenice Abbott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/berenice-abbott/) > [None. They should just go out and photograph and stop talking about it. That's the only way they are going to find themselves. They…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/berenice-abbott/none-they-should-just-go-out-and-photograph-and-stop-talking-about-it/) [Berenice Abbott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/berenice-abbott/) > [What the human eye observes casually and incuriously, the eye of the camera... notes with relentless fidelity.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/berenice-abbott/what-the-human-eye-observes-casually-and-incuriously-the-eye-of-the/) [Berenice Abbott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/berenice-abbott/) > [There are many teachers who could ruin you. Before you know it you could be a pale copy of this teacher or that teacher.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/berenice-abbott/there-are-many-teachers-who-could-ruin-you-before-you-know-it-you/) [Berenice Abbott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/berenice-abbott/) > [Abstraction in photography is ridiculous, and is only an imitation of painting. We stopped imitating painters a hundred years ago, so to imitate them…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/berenice-abbott/abstraction-in-photography-is-ridiculous-and-is-only-an-imitation-of/) [Berenice Abbott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/berenice-abbott/) > [I have yet to see a fine photograph which is not a good document.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/berenice-abbott/i-have-yet-to-see-a-fine-photograph-which-is-not-a-good-document/) [Berenice Abbott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/berenice-abbott/) > [Like every other means of expression, photography, if it is to be utterly honest and direct, should be related to the life of the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/berenice-abbott/like-every-other-means-of-expression-photography-if-it-is-to-be/) [Berenice Abbott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/berenice-abbott/) > [I wanted to combine science and photography in a sensible, unemotional way. Some people’s ideas of scientific photography is just arty design, something pretty.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/berenice-abbott/i-wanted-to-combine-science-and-photography-in-a-sensible-unemotional/) [Berenice Abbott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/berenice-abbott/) > [Photography can only represent the present. Once photographed, the subject becomes part of the past.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/berenice-abbott/photography-can-only-represent-the-present-once-photographed-the/) [Berenice Abbott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/berenice-abbott/) > [What the human eye observes casually and incuriously, the eye of the camera (the lens) notes with relentless fidelity.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/berenice-abbott/what-the-human-eye-observes-casually-and-incuriously-the-eye-of-the-2/) [Berenice Abbott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/berenice-abbott/) > [Let us first say what photography is not. A photograph is not a painting, a poem, a symphony, a dance. It is not just…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/berenice-abbott/let-us-first-say-what-photography-is-not-a-photograph-is-not-a/) [Berenice Abbott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/berenice-abbott/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "ItemList", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/photograph/berenice-abbott/#itemlist", "name": "10 Photograph Quotes By Berenice Abbott", "numberOfItems": 10, "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "item": { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "I have yet to see a fine photograph which is not a good document.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Berenice Abbott" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/berenice-abbott/i-have-yet-to-see-a-fine-photograph-which-is-not-a-good-document/", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e78/berenice-abbott-14021_document_i-have-yet-to-see-a-fine-photograph-whic_906455.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e78/berenice-abbott-14021_document_i-have-yet-to-see-a-fine-photograph-whic_906455.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e78/berenice-abbott-14021_document_i-have-yet-to-see-a-fine-photograph-whic_906455.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“I have yet to see a fine photograph which is not a good document.” — Berenice Abbott", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } } }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "item": { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Imagine a world without photography, one could only imagine.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Berenice Abbott" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/berenice-abbott/imagine-a-world-without-photography-one-could-only-imagine/", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8a2/berenice-abbott-14021_imagination_imagine-a-world-without-photography-one_2029682.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8a2/berenice-abbott-14021_imagination_imagine-a-world-without-photography-one_2029682.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8a2/berenice-abbott-14021_imagination_imagine-a-world-without-photography-one_2029682.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Imagine a world without photography, one could only imagine.” — Berenice Abbott", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } } }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "item": { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "The photograph may be presented as finely and artistically as you will; but to merit serious consideration, must be directly connected with the world we live in.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Berenice Abbott" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/berenice-abbott/the-photograph-may-be-presented-as-finely-and-artistically-as-you/", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/58b/berenice-abbott-14021_cameras_the-photograph-may-be-presented-as-finel_2752854.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/58b/berenice-abbott-14021_cameras_the-photograph-may-be-presented-as-finel_2752854.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/58b/berenice-abbott-14021_cameras_the-photograph-may-be-presented-as-finel_2752854.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“The photograph may be presented as finely and artistically as you will; but to merit serious consideration…” — Berenice Abbott", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } } }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "item": { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "I agree that all good photographs are documents, but I also know that all documents are certainly not good photographs. 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I never wanted to do anything else. Excitement about the subject is the voltage which pushes me over the mountain of drudgery necessary to produce the final photograph.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Berenice Abbott" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/berenice-abbott/i-took-to-photography-like-a-duck-to-water-i-never-wanted-to-do/", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/913/berenice-abbott-14021_drudgery_i-took-to-photography-like-a-duck-to-wat_2498422.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/913/berenice-abbott-14021_drudgery_i-took-to-photography-like-a-duck-to-wat_2498422.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/913/berenice-abbott-14021_drudgery_i-took-to-photography-like-a-duck-to-wat_2498422.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“I took to photography like a duck to water. I never wanted to do anything else. 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They should just go out and photograph and stop talking about it. That's the only way they are going to find themselves. They can't do it in their heads - they have to go out and do it in the camera and get it on film.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Berenice Abbott" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/berenice-abbott/none-they-should-just-go-out-and-photograph-and-stop-talking-about-it/", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/90e/berenice-abbott-14021_camera_none-they-should-just-go-out-and-photogr_594082.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/90e/berenice-abbott-14021_camera_none-they-should-just-go-out-and-photogr_594082.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/90e/berenice-abbott-14021_camera_none-they-should-just-go-out-and-photogr_594082.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“None. They should just go out and photograph and stop talking about it. That's the only way they are going…” — Berenice Abbott", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } } }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 8, "item": { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Actually, documentary pictures include every subject in the world - good, bad, indifferent. I have yet to see a fine photograph which is not a good document.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Berenice Abbott" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/berenice-abbott/actually-documentary-pictures-include-every-subject-in-the-world-good/", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ace/berenice-abbott-14021_documentaries_actually-documentary-pictures-include-ev_1861071.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ace/berenice-abbott-14021_documentaries_actually-documentary-pictures-include-ev_1861071.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ace/berenice-abbott-14021_documentaries_actually-documentary-pictures-include-ev_1861071.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Actually, documentary pictures include every subject in the world - good, bad, indifferent. I have yet to…” — Berenice Abbott", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } } }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 9, "item": { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Let us first say what photography is not. A photograph is not a painting, a poem, a symphony, a dance. It is not just a pretty picture, not an exercise in contortionist techniques and sheer print quality. It is or should be a significant document, a penetrating statement, which can be described in a very simple term-selectivity.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Berenice Abbott" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/berenice-abbott/let-us-first-say-what-photography-is-not-a-photograph-is-not-a/", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0ca/berenice-abbott-14021_documents_let-us-first-say-what-photography-is-not_1083684.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0ca/berenice-abbott-14021_documents_let-us-first-say-what-photography-is-not_1083684.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0ca/berenice-abbott-14021_documents_let-us-first-say-what-photography-is-not_1083684.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Let us first say what photography is not. A photograph is not a painting, a poem, a symphony, a dance. It is…” — Berenice Abbott", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } } }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 10, "item": { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "To chart a course, one must have a direction. In reality, the eye is no better than the philosophy behind it. The photographer creates, evolves a better, more selective, more acute eye by looking ever more sharply at what is going on in the world. Like every other means of expression, photography, if it is to be utterly honest and direct, should be related to the life of the times-the pulse of today. The photograph may be presented as finely and artistically as you will, but to merit serious consideration, must be directly connected with the world we live in.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Berenice Abbott" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/berenice-abbott/to-chart-a-course-one-must-have-a-direction-in-reality-the-eye-is-no/", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/499/berenice-abbott-14021_behinds_to-chart-a-course-one-must-have-a-direct_305746.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/499/berenice-abbott-14021_behinds_to-chart-a-course-one-must-have-a-direct_305746.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/499/berenice-abbott-14021_behinds_to-chart-a-course-one-must-have-a-direct_305746.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“To chart a course, one must have a direction. In reality, the eye is no better than the philosophy behind…” — Berenice Abbott", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } } } ] }, { "@type": "CollectionPage", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/photograph/berenice-abbott/#webpage", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/photograph/berenice-abbott/", "name": "Photograph Quotes by Berenice Abbott", "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "mainEntity": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/photograph/berenice-abbott/#itemlist" }, "primaryImageOfPage": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e78/berenice-abbott-14021_document_i-have-yet-to-see-a-fine-photograph-whic_906455.png" }, "description": "10 Photograph quotes by Berenice Abbott. 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